Rhythms in Physiological Systems: Proceedings of the International Symposium at Schloß Elmau, Bavaria, October 22–25, 1990 (Springer Series in Synergetics, 55)

Rhythms are a basic phenomenon in all physiological systems. They cover an enormous range of frequencies with periods from the order of milliseconds up to some years. They are described by many disciplines and are investigated usually in the context of the physiology of the respective function or organ. The importance given to the research on rhythmicity is quite different in different systems. In some cases where the functional significance is obvious rhythms are at the center of interest, as in the case of respiration or locomotion. In other fields they are considered more or less as interesting epiphenomena or at best as indicators without essential functional significance, as in the case of cardiovascular or EEG rhythms. Recently the study of physiological rhythms has attracted growing interest in several fields, especially with respect to rhythm research in humans and its rapidly spreading applications in basic behavioral research, and as a diagnostic tool in clinical medicine. This development was favored by two methodological and conceptual ad­ vances: on the one hand, the availability of non-invasive methods of continu­ ous recording of physiological parameters and their computer-assisted evaluation, and on the other, the rapid development of theoretical analyses, for example, the understanding of dynamic systems, the generation of coordinated macroscopic pro­ cesses in systems comprising many single elements, and the mathematical tools for treating nonlinear oscillators and their mutual coupling. Front Matter....Pages I-IX Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Physiology of Rhythms and Control Systems: An Integrative Approach....Pages 3-20 Synergetics – Can It Help Physiology....Pages 21-31 Front Matter....Pages 33-33 Autorhythmicity in Blood Vessels: Its Biophysical and Biochemical Bases....Pages 35-59 Role of the Rostroventrolateral Medulla in the Generation of Rhythmicities of the Sympathetic Activity....Pages 61-68 Noninvasive Methods for Studying Rhythmic Nervous Control of Human Circulation....Pages 69-76 The High Pressure System of the Mammalian Circulation as a Dynamic Self-Organizing System....Pages 77-96 Spectral Analysis of Circulatory Rhythms and Baroreflex Sensitivity in Man....Pages 97-102 Spectral Analysis of Cardiovascular Variables as a Tool to Quantify Neural Cardiovascular Control in the Laboratory and Real Life Conditions....Pages 103-114 Cardiorespiratory Variability: Fractals, White Noise, Nonlinear Oscillators, and Linear Modeling. What’s to Be Learned....Pages 115-126 Spectral Analysis as an Assessment of the Neural Control of the Heart: A Methodological Comparison....Pages 127-137 Power Laws, Transients, Attractors, and Entropy: Possible Implications for Cardiovascular Dynamics....Pages 139-152 Front Matter....Pages 153-153 The Respiratory System — Features of Modulation and Coordination....Pages 155-164 Phase Resetting of Respiratory Rhythm — Experiments in Animals and. Models....Pages 165-175 Rhythmogenesis of Deterministic Breathing Patterns....Pages 177-191 Front Matter....Pages 193-193 Synergetic Dynamics of Biological Coordination with Special Reference to Phase Attraction and Intermittency....Pages 195-213 Synchronization of Rhythm in Motor Actions....Pages 215-231 Front Matter....Pages 233-233 Interactions Between Human Circadian and (About 90 min) Sleep Rhythms: Problems in the Simulation and the Analysis....Pages 235-253 Front Matter....Pages 255-255 The Information Content of the Human EEG....Pages 257-271 Synergetics of Evoked Alpha and Theta Rhythms in the Brain: Topographic and Modality-Dependent Aspects....Pages 273-288 EEG Rhythms - Event-Related Desynchronization and Synchronization....Pages 289-296 Front Matter....Pages 297-297 Psychological Modification and Synergetic Modelling of Perceptual Oscillations....Pages 299-311 Front Matter....Pages 313-313 Spatio-Temporal EEG Patterns....Pages 315-338 Information Processing by Systems with Chemical Communication....Pages 339-350 Criteria for the Relative Degree of Order in Self-Organization Processes....Pages 351-362 Back Matter....Pages 363-363 This book is based on invited lectures presented by top experts in the fieldof physiological rhythms. Until now, cardiovascular rhythms, respiratory rhythms, circadian rhythms, rhythms of electrical activity of the brain, rhythms in perception, and motor-coordination of rhythmic movements have always been considered independently. This is the first attempt to demonstrate the pronounced similarities between these phenomena and to identify their interrelations. The contributions shed new light on the origin and coordination of different kinds of rhythms.An important concept proposed here is that of quasi-attractors, according to which the total system remains in some attractor for a while before being pushed out to enter a new attractor, and so on. These attractors are characterized by properties such as mode-locking, free-running modes, and chaotic modes. The striking similarity between the different rhythms suggests that the mechanisms underlying their generation are of similar or even identical nature. The relationship between different rhythms is critically analyzed. It was generally felt by the workshop participants that a unified view of physiological rhythms had been developed for the first time and that this will lead in new directions in the study of complex physiological rhythms. This book is based on invited lectures presented by top experts in the fieldof physiological rhythms. Until now, cardiovascular rhythms, respiratory rhythms, circadian rhythms, rhythms of electrical activity of the brain, rhythms in perception, and motor-coordination of rhythmic movements have always been considered independently. This is the first attempt to demonstrate the pronounced similarities between these phenomena and to identify their interrelations. The contributions shed new light on the origin and coordination of different kinds of rhythms. An important concept proposed here is that of quasi-attractors, according to which the total system remains in some attractor for a while before being pushed out to enter a new attractor, and so on. These attractors are characterized by properties such as mode-locking, free-running modes, and chaotic modes. The striking similarity between the different rhythms suggests that the mechanisms underlying their generation are of similar or even identical nature. The relationship between different rhythms is critically analyzed. It was generally felt by the workshop participants that a unified view of physiological rhythms had been developed for the first time and that this will lead in new directions in the study of complex physiological rhythms